Cryptocurrency in the second Donald Trump administration

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For Trump's memecoin, see $Trump.
For the Trump family's cryptocurrency company, see World Liberty Financial.

In American president Donald Trump's first term, he had opposed cryptocurrency, and in 2021, he had told Fox Business that Bitcoin "seems like a scam" to compete with the US dollar.[1] In his second presidency, Trump campaigned for digital assets.[2] His campaign and inauguration received millions of dollars in donations from the crypto industry, and he called himself the "crypto president".

Industry political donations

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The cryptocurrency industry poured money into both sides[3] of the 2024 election, becoming the largest corporate donor with $238 million—more than the oil, gas, and pharmaceutical lobbies.[4] The crypto industry gave $18 million to the Trump inauguration,[5] money Trump was free to spend as he wished.[6]

World Liberty Financial

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He directly benefited from his cryptocurrency company World Liberty Financial which engaged in an unprecedented mixing of private enterprise and government policy. It directly solicited access to Trump with secret payments and currency swaps from foreign investors, companies, and individuals with criminal records and investigations. At least one investigation was dropped after payment worth several million was made to the firm, and Trump granted an official pardon to an investor of a company World Liberty had invested in. Trump's family received a cut of all transactions made through the World Liberty, and the company directly advertised its connections to Trump. Several actions taken by Trump's administration regarding cryptocurrency were noted to bolster the company's assets and position. A spokeswoman for Trump stated that since his assets were in a trust managed by his children, there were "no conflicts of interest".[7]

Meme coin

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In January 2025, Trump launched the $Trump meme coin, earning between $86–100 million in trading fees in two weeks.[8] Peaking at $75.35 the day before inauguration, the coin's value then declined.[2] Creating a contest, Trump invited the top coin holders to a private dinner to be held on May 22,[9] bringing the coin's value back up 70 percent and the total in circulation to $2.4 billion.[10] By April, fees collected by entities affiliated with the Trump Organization whose stake is 80 percent[2] totaled $349 million.[11] The Campaign Legal Center director of ethics said “criminal conflicts of interest statutes don’t apply to the president” and that the contest is most likely legal.[12]

On January 17, 2025, Trump launched, promoted, and personally benefited[13] from a cryptocurrency memecoin, $Trump, that soared to a market valuation of over $5 billion within a few hours—a total $27 billion diluted value—through a Trump-owned company called CIC Digital LLC, which owned 80 percent of the coin's supply.[14] Within two days, the $Trump coin became the 19th most valuable form of cryptocurrency in the world, with a total trading value of nearly $13 billion, and a total of $29 billion worth of trades based on a $64 value of each of the 200 million tokens issued by the afternoon of January 19. The New York Times reported that Trump affiliates controlled an additional 800 million tokens that, hypothetically, could be worth over $51 billion, potentially making Trump one of the richest people in the world. Trump also launched a new memecoin named after his wife, $Melania, and promoted it on Truth Social shortly before attending an inauguration rally. The crypto venture was criticized by ethics experts and government watchdogs.[15] The venture and the possibility of foreign governments buying the coin was highlighted as possibly violating the Constitution's foreign emoluments clause.[16]

Decreased regulation

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Trump disbanded the Justice Department agency responsible for regulating cryptocurrency crime. [17]

U.S. stockpile

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In January by executive order, Trump created a Working Group on digital assets and promised to make the U.S. the “crypto capital of the planet.”[18] On March 2 following a crypto sell-off, Trump started a $300 billion global rally in cryptocurrency when he named five types on Truth Social that the US stockpile would hold: Ripple (XRP), Solana (SOL) and Cardano (ADA); and later Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH).[19] On March 6 by executive order, Trump established the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and the U.S. Digital Asset Stockpile.[20]

He held a Crypto Summit at the White House the following day, inviting leaders in the field to discuss the government-owned crypto stockpile.[21] The industry was disappointed that taxpayer funds wouldn't be used to purchase crypto, and the market dropped sharply following the order.[22]

  • as Bloomberg said, cementing Bitcoin as a financial instrument and a U.S. asset held in reserve like gold, oil and cheese[23]

He pardoned BitMEX, the first presidential pardon of a corporation.[24]

During his 2024 campaign, Trump promised to fire SEC chair Gary Gensler, immediately shut down Operation Chokepoint 2.0 (an alleged anti-crypto conspiracy), make the United States the "crypto capital of the planet" and said, "The rules will be written by people who love your industry, not hate your industry."[25][26][27][28] Following Trump's elections Bitcoin hit a record high.[29] Axios estimated that the $Trump currency "accounts for about 89% of Donald Trump's net worth".[30]

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) under Trump filed to dismiss its lawsuit against Coinbase which had charged Coinbase was "Operating as an Unregistered Securities Exchange, Broker, and Clearing Agency".[31][32][33] The SEC requested a 60-day pause in its lawsuit against Binance that alleged mishandling of funds and securities law violations.[34][35] The SEC asked that the case against Trump associate and crypto billionaire Justin Sun be put on hold.[36][37] The SEC said it would not exercise any regulatory authority over memecoins.[38][39]

Representative Ayanna Pressley criticized the Trump administration and the Department of Government Efficiency's targeting of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and "emphasized the critical role" of the agency's work to protect consumers of cryptocurrencies.[40] Trump nominated Paul S. Atkins, who has "close ties to the crypto industry", to succeed Gary Gensler as Chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission.[41] Scott Bessent, described by Forbes as "a prominent pro-crypto hedge fund manager", was nominated by Trump for Secretary of the Treasury.[42][43] ProPublica reported that the Department of Housing and Urban Development had discussed using cryptocurrency, which was described as "simply reckless" by Reps. Maxine Waters, Stephen Lynch and Emanuel Cleaver, who drew comparisons with "risky, unregulated, and predatory financial products" that led to the Great Recession.[44][45] In a memo, deputy attorney general Todd Blanche said the national cryptocurrency enforcement team (established in February 2022 to "address the challenge posed by the criminal misuse of cryptocurrencies and digital assets") "shall be disbanded effective immediately" as "the Department of Justice is not a digital assets regulator".[46][47][48] Trump's ties to cryptocurrency have led to concerns of corruption, with Senator Elizabeth Warren describing Trump as "enriching himself and his family through their crypto businesses while his administration guts oversight of the market".[49][50]

References

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  1. ^ Trump: Bitcoin ‘seems like a scam’. Fox Business. June 7, 2021.
  2. ^ a b c Picchi, Aimee (April 24, 2025). Sherter, Alain; D. Lee, Anne Marie (eds.). "Trump's meme coin, which had fizzled in value, surges after offer of dinner with the president". CBS News.
  3. ^ Rja, Prashant (October 30, 2024). Zia, Insha (ed.). "Crypto Industry Political Donations Top $200M: Biggest Donors in the 2024 Presidential Race". CCN.com.
  4. ^ Terrett, Eleanor (November 4, 2024). "Crypto industry election spending tallies at least $238M, surpassing traditional giants". Fox Business.
  5. ^ Weiss, Ben (April 21, 2025). "Crypto firms gave $18M to Trump's inauguration. Ripple's $4.9M gift was second biggest overall". Fortune.
  6. ^ Rogin, Ali; Zahn, Harry (January 19, 2025). "Leaders in tech, AI and cryptocurrency make big donations to Trump inauguration". PBS News Weekend.
  7. ^ Lipton, Eric; Yaffe-Ballany, David; Protess, Ben (April 29, 2025). "Secret Deals, Foreign Investments, Presidential Policy Changes: The Rise of Trump's Crypto Firm". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved May 1, 2025.
  8. ^ Wilson, Tom; Conlin, Michelle (February 3, 2025). "Exclusive: Trump's meme coin made nearly $100 million in trading fees, as small traders lost money". Reuters.
  9. ^ "Have Dinner with President Trump". gettrumpmemes.com. Retrieved April 30, 2025 – via Internet Archive.
  10. ^ da Silva, João (April 23, 2025). "Trump crypto soars as president offers dinner to top holders". BBC News.
  11. ^ Wilson, Tom; Bergin, Tom; Delevingne, Lawrence; Conlin, Michelle (March 31, 2025). "Insight: How the Trump family took over a crypto firm as it raised hundreds of millions". Reuters.
  12. ^ Collier, Kevin; Sigalos, MacKenzie (April 25, 2025). "Trump's meme coin dinner contest earns insiders $900,000 in two days". NBC News.
  13. ^ Weissert, Will (January 22, 2025). "Trump has canceled Biden's ethics rules. Critics call it the opposite of 'drain the swamp'". The Associated Press. Archived from the original on January 23, 2025. Retrieved January 23, 2025.
  14. ^ Goodman, Jasper (January 18, 2025). "Trump launches crypto meme coin, ballooning net worth ahead of inauguration". Politico. Retrieved January 18, 2025.
  15. ^ Lipton, Eric; Yaffe-Bellany, David (January 19, 2025). "Trump's Cryptocurrency Surges to Become One of the World's Most Valuable". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved January 19, 2025.
  16. ^ Romm, Tony (January 19, 2025). "Trump promotes meme coin, raising ethics issues as value soars". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved January 19, 2025.
  17. ^ Fields, Ashleigh (April 8, 2025). "Trump administration disbands crypto regulations enforcement unit". The Hill.
  18. ^ "Fact Sheet: Executive Order to Establish United States Leadership in Digital Financial Technology". The White House. January 23, 2025.
  19. ^ Dale, Brady (March 2, 2025). "Trump sparks $300 billion global crypto rally with social media posts". Axios.
  20. ^ "Fact Sheet: President Donald J. Trump Establishes the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and U.S. Digital Asset Stockpile". The White House. March 6, 2025.
  21. ^ Bose, Nandita; McGee, Suzanne; Conlin, Michelle (March 7, 2025). "Crypto leaders meet at Trump's summit with strategic reserve in focus". Reuters.
  22. ^ Xie, Teresa; Weeks, Ryan; Shen, Muyao (March 4, 2025). "Backlash to Crypto-Reserve Plan Raises Doubts on Its Prospects". Bloomberg News.
  23. ^ Kharif, Olga (March 11, 2025). "How Will the US Bitcoin Reserve Work, Exactly?". Bloomberg News.
  24. ^ Wehle, Kimberly (April 1, 2025). "Trump makes history by pardoning a corporation". The Hill. Archived from the original on April 29, 2025. Retrieved May 3, 2025.
  25. ^ Sigalos, MacKenzie (November 6, 2024). "Here's what Trump promised the crypto industry ahead of the election". CNBC.
  26. ^ Khalili, Joel. "Chokepoint 2.0: An Investigation Promises the Truth About Crypto's Biggest Conspiracy". Wired.com. ISSN 1059-1028.
  27. ^ "Hearing Entitled: Operation Choke Point 2.0: The Biden Administration's Efforts to Put Crypto in the Crosshairs | Financial Services Committee". financialservices.house.gov.
  28. ^ "Trump calls for US to be 'crypto capital of the planet' in appeal to Nashville bitcoin conference". AP News. July 27, 2024.
  29. ^ Banerjee, Ankur; Indyk, Samuel (November 11, 2024). "Bitcoin jumps to record as Trump's election turbocharges cryptocurrencies". Reuters.
  30. ^ Salmon, Felix (January 19, 2025). "Donald Trump is the newest crypto billionaire". Axios.
  31. ^ Lang, Hannah. "US securities regulator files to dismiss lawsuit against Coinbase". USA TODAY.
  32. ^ "SEC.gov | SEC Charges Coinbase for Operating as an Unregistered Securities Exchange, Broker, and Clearing Agency". www.sec.gov.
  33. ^ "SEC.gov | SEC Announces Dismissal of Civil Enforcement Action Against Coinbase". www.sec.gov.
  34. ^ "SEC and Binance request 60-day pause in lawsuit as the agency shifts to be more crypto-friendly". Fast Company. Associated Press. February 12, 2025. Archived from the original on February 15, 2025.
  35. ^ "Binance mishandled funds and violated securities laws, according to SEC lawsuit". AP News. June 5, 2023.
  36. ^ Stempel, Jonathan (February 26, 2025). "US SEC, Tron founder Justin Sun explore resolution of civil fraud case". Reuters. Archived from the original on March 3, 2025.
  37. ^ "A crypto mogul who invested millions into Trump coins is getting a reprieve on civil fraud charges | CNN Business". CNN. Archived from the original on March 4, 2025.
  38. ^ Goldstein, Matthew (February 28, 2025). "S.E.C. Declares Memecoins Are Not Subject to Oversight". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331.
  39. ^ "SEC.gov | Staff Statement on Meme Coins". www.sec.gov.
  40. ^ Sanchez, Ricardo (February 13, 2025). "ICYMI: In Hearing, Pressley Uplifts CFPB, Slams Trump-Musk Gutting of Agency with Crypto Scams on the Rise". Ayanna Pressley.
  41. ^ Yaffe-Bellany, David (February 28, 2025). "Under Trump, U.S. Increasingly Pulls Back From Crypto Crackdown". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on February 28, 2025.
  42. ^ Runkevicius, Dan. "'Most Pro-Crypto Treasury We've Ever Seen'—Trump's Historic Move Could Spark Bitcoin And Crypto Price Boom". Forbes.
  43. ^ Chow, Andrew R. (March 8, 2025). "Trump's Crypto Summit Shows That the Industry is in Charge". TIME.
  44. ^ Coburn, Jesse (April 2, 2025). "Representatives Demand Housing Agency Halt Any Cryptocurrency Experiments". ProPublica.
  45. ^ "Crypto-letter". www.documentcloud.org.
  46. ^ Betts, Anna (April 8, 2025). "Trump's justice department to disband unit investigating crypto fraud". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077.
  47. ^ "Justice Department will disband its crypto-related enforcement team". AP News. April 8, 2025.
  48. ^ "Criminal Division | National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team | United States Department of Justice". justice.gov. December 19, 2024. Archived from the original on February 2, 2025.
  49. ^ Stone, Peter (April 14, 2025). "Critics slam deregulation of crypto as Trump family expands its footprint in industry". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077.
  50. ^ Stone, Peter (January 27, 2025). "'Trump's grifting tendencies': how the president's crypto ties could spur corruption". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077.